Personal Property & Travel Claims Guide

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Important Information

Even if you’re not making a claim for damage to your own possessions or other expenses, you may find yourself facing a claim from another person involved. We will give you help and advice and deal with any claims made against you.

Many of our policies provide a 24 hour Helpline and legal expenses insurance, the details of which will be shown in the policy or schedule.

Personal Property & Travel Claims Guide

Your policy document will explain precisely what is and is not covered. Please read your policy and schedule in detail before making a claim.

Sometimes things do go wrong unexpectedly. For many people it is a new experience, the first time that they will have thought about their insurance policy and tested the product that they had hoped never to have to call upon. This guide explains the main steps along the way and deals with what happens next to you and anyone else involved. It tells you what we can do to help.

We can’t stop accidents happening but we will do all we can to make sure that:

The consequences are as hassle free as possible

You have an understanding of what comes next

You get the maximum benefit from your insurance cover

For more information about Islands Insurance claims process, here are the answers to some of your frequently asked questions.

Personal Property - How to make a claim

First, and most important, act immediately to minimise the damage or loss, regardless of whether it is insured or not. Take all reasonable steps to secure any damaged property (e.g. by switching off the water supply for a burst pipe or calling the fire brigade for a fire) and stop further damage from occurring, but without risking your life or the lives of others.

If you need to make an insurance claim, please ensure you have the following to hand before you contact us:

Your policy number

Details of any third parties involved

An indication of the value of the claim, such as purchase price, estimated replacement cost, or the extent of damage or injury

If we have acknowledged your claim already please contact the reference number given on the acknowledgement. Please indicate your policy number, or claim reference number if you have one, in all correspondence.

Travel – How to make a claim

If the incident relates to Medical Expenses or the need to cancel or cut short a holiday then you must contact the Travel Emergency Helpline number shown on your policy Schedule and/or the Travel Insurance card.

What do I do if my property has been stolen?

The first thing to do is to report it to the local police where the theft occurred, this is absolutely vital as all insurers will insist that this has been done. Make a note of the crime or incident reference.

Next report the claim to our Claims Department.

What to do if someone else is involved

Don’t apologise or accept responsibility at the scene, even if you think that you may be to blame.

Do collect the following information about the incident:

Names, addresses, phone numbers of any other persons who were injured

Names, addresses and phone numbers of owners of damaged property

Details of any injuries suffered

Details of any property damaged

Names, addresses and phone numbers of any witnesses

Police officers’ details and incident reference number

Take photographs of the scene and any damage where it is safe to do so

This information is important because it will help us to contact anybody else involved in the incident.

Whether you are at fault or not, this information is extremely valuable as it helps us to manage costs effectively – which ultimately helps to minimise the impact of claims on your premium.

Why is early reporting important?

Please report the incident to us as soon as you can even if you do not have all the information to hand.

If you were not at fault, the sooner we start to pursue the recovery the more likely we are to successfully recover our costs, and you will be more likely to recover any losses not covered by your policy.

If you were at fault we will use the information to try to contact the other party and manage their repair and other costs.

So, whether you were at fault or not, both the pursuit of the responsible party and the management of the costs involved in looking after the innocent party are important ways that you can help us to contain the rising costs of insurance - not only for you but for everyone.

How do I recover my excess and any other losses?

Your policy cover may include legal expenses cover, and this is there to provide you with a range of legal services in connection with your personal insurance policy.

One of the services it can provide is the recovery of any losses not covered by your policy; such as injury or your excess . If you report your claim to our Claims Department and the cover is included then they will provide the legal expenses insurer with details of your claim and they may contact you before you hear from us.

They will assess whether you have a case against another party, and if they conclude that you do, they will make contact with you to see if they can help you.

Why am I receiving nuisance calls or texts?

Ambulance Chasers

If you were not at fault for an incident, and the other party or service providers took your details at the scene particularly if the accident happened in the UK, then it is quite likely that you will be approached by a number of companies anxious to secure your case. . This will probably relate to any claim you may have for personal injury but you may also be contacted totally at random by text, e-mail or phone call, when they have no idea whether you have had a previous claim or not. This is simply an attempt to deceive you and is known as phishing, it is totally beyond our control and has not been prompted by Islands Insurance or any of our service providers.

The promoters of these schemes have one of two motives: either they are able to make money by selling your details to a service provider who will pay them a referral fee (most likely), or they will be trying to manage the costs. Islands Insurance, and the insurers that we place your business with, neither pay nor receive referral fees. We actively encourage all our customers to take advantage of their policy benefits and avoid these arrangements which serve only to increase insurance premiums generally.

How long will my claim take?

We aim to settle all claims as quickly and as fairly as possible. However, delays may occur where we need to contact you for additional information, or where a claim is complicated, or where a third party is involved. If you need to check on the progress of your claim do not hesitate to contact us.

What if I would like to give feedback or have a complaint?

We welcome your views on any aspect of our service and if we fail to meet your expectations, in the first instance please contact us on the number given on your claim acknowledgement. More details on our complaints procedure are given in our Terms of Business.

Reminder, this guide is not a substitute for the policy wording and should not be relied upon as containing all the terms and conditions. It is intended as a helpful outline of some of the main features of the claims handling process.

We have a network of suppliers throughout the Channel Islands and the UK